Donald Trump Jr has admitted to meeting a Russian lawyer

Trump Jr: First confirmation of a meeting between Russians and a member of the President's inner circle (Source: Getty)

Catherine Neilan

Donald Trump Jr has admitted to meeting with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya, who claimed to have damaging information about Hillary Clinton, during last year's presidential campaign.

The president's son has issued a statement saying Veselnitskaya claimed in a meeting last June "that she had information that individuals connected to Russia were funding the Democratic National Committee and supporting Ms. Clinton".

However, Trump Jr said the meeting - at which the president's son in law Jared Kushner and then-campaign head Paul Manafort also attended - was not fruitful:

"Her statements were vague, ambiguous and made no sense. No details or supporting information was provided or even offered. It quickly became clear that she had no meaningful information."

Nothing else came of the meeting, the statement said, adding: "My father knew nothing of the meeting or these events."